The Time That is Given Us
by Sardhrantor
Summary: Three girls, upon their nonchalantly wishing so, are sent to Middle-earth one summer day. They believe that Middle-earth would be better than their own time. But which is truly better for them?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Other than everything that's not already been come up with by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien or Peter Jackson, I own nothing.**

"Noelle, Noelle!"

Twelve-year-old Noelle Thompson frowned at the interruption of her reading of _The Return of the King._ She looked up to see her younger sister, Aubrey, standing over her.

"What is it, li'l sis?" Noelle asked, putting her book away. "I was at the best part! Frodo is standing over the Crack of Doom!"

"You mean they have that in the book, too?" Aubrey smiled. She had only seen the movies. _Poor thing_ _,_ thought Noelle.

"Of course," Noelle answered. "Peter Jackson got it from somewhere."

Aubrey jumped onto the bed and crossed her legs. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Noelle grinned.

"Well...I know this sounds stupid, but do you ever wish you were in...well, whatever they call the place that _The Lord of the Rings_ is in?"

"Middle-earth?" Noelle twisted her mouth thoughtfully. "Well...sometimes, I guess." Actually, Noelle had been wishing she was in Middle-earth ever since she had gotten a new history teacher at school. But that is quite another story.

"I wonder if there is a way to get there," Aubrey said.

" _The Lord of the Rings_ is just a made-up story, Aubrey," said Noelle, but she wondered if going to Middle-earth would really be possible.

"That's...sad," said Aubrey. Then she brightened. "Oh! I have an idea. What if you and Tricia and I practice a play so we can show Mom and Dad when they get home? Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Yes, that'd be a great idea," Noelle replied with a smile. She and Aubrey jumped up and ran down the hall to Tricia's room.

Noelle threw open the door. "Trish, do you want to act in a play with Aubrey and me?"

Tricia looked up and shrugged. "I guess, if you want." She was never the enthusiastic type. "What's the play going to be about?"

Aubrey grinned. _"The Lord of the Rings."_

"You can't do that," said Tricia. "LOTR is way too long for us to do a play on."

"I didn't mean the whole thing," Aubrey giggled. "I meant just part of it."

"What part?" asked Noelle, as she didn't know either. Tricia walked into the hall.

"Well, those people in _The Two Towers_ , in Rohan. You know, the mother sending her two little kids to the king's house."

"You mean Morwen and Éothain and Freda?" said Noelle. "That would be hard to do, but it would work, I guess."

"Let's practice in the tree house," suggested Aubrey. She took both her sisters' hands and led them out the door and into the yard.

"It's _rehearse,_ not _practice,"_ corrected Noelle. Aubrey opened the tree house door and beckoned with her hand. "Come on in, y'all," she said.

Tricia, Noelle, and Aubrey went inside the tree house. The youngest let the door swing shut. "Now then," said Noelle. "Don't none of you worry. I got all them lines memorized. Who's gonna be who?"

"Easy," said Tricia. "I'm Morwen, Noelle's Éothain, and Aubrey is Freda. We are doing that scene where Morwen sends them off, right? Not the one in the Golden Hall or in Helm's Deep?"

"Yeah, because that's the easiest," said Aubrey.

"Who's going to be the horse?" asked Tricia.

"Why, Dernhú, of course," Aubrey replied. Dernhú was their dog. His name was Sindarin for "tough dog".

Tricia seemed a little skeptical. "I don't know if Dernhú can hold both Noelle's and your weight."

"Well...we can just pretend to ride him, then." Aubrey spoke very confidently.

The three girls, after Noelle told them their lines, began to rehearse. They went through the scene at least six times before all of them were satisfied.

Noelle sat down against the tree. "Boy, I _really_ wish I was in Middle-earth."

"So do I," said Aubrey.

"So do I," said Tricia.

The room was silent for a few seconds. No one moved. Then Noelle had a strange feeling in her gut. She sat up a little straighter. In the process her head pushed a little against the tree trunk. A portion of the bark gave way and fell into the tree. Noelle gasped and spun around. The tree was hollow!

"Oh, Noelle..." breathed Aubrey.

"Wow!" exclaimed Tricia.

"I never knew this tree was hol—" Noelle began, but cut herself off when she saw the inside of the tree began to glow, brighter and brighter until the light filled the whole room like the light of the sun. No one said anything. There was nothing to say.

Noelle leaned forward a little into the tree; only, it was no longer a tree inside, but an entirely different world. Noelle put her hand out into the Other World, whatever it was, and waved her hand around a little. The air seemed real enough. Noelle felt a hand on her back. She turned. Tricia was frowning a little and wagging her head. _Don't…_ she mouthed.

"No," said Noelle. "I'm going anyway." She put her hand, the one she had waved around, on the bottom of the opening and used it to propel her body into the brilliant sunlight of the other world, not knowing where she would land.

 **A/N: Thus begins the revised edition of _The Time That is Given Us._ If you have not read the original already, there is no rush. Read it if you want; don't read it if you don't want. I intend to update regularly: once a week if I can. But whatever you do, please leave a review—positive, negative, or neutral—and follow or favorite as you see fit.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing (except my OCs).**

* * *

Noelle fell only four or five feet before hitting a hard boulder. She lost her balance and tumbled down onto the turf, rolling in the grass two or three times to help absorb the shock. She got up and brushed herself off.

Looking about with wide eyes, Noelle saw that she was in a vast, rolling plain with greenish-brown grass and more boulders here and there. She looked up. _It must be about noon,_ she reasoned, _since the sun is high in the sky._

Noelle heard two people drop onto the boulder behind her and roll on the grass. She turned quickly around and put on a fighting pose.

"Don't worry, it's just us," said Aubrey.

"You didn't think I'd let my kid sister go into some foreign universe alone, did you?" asked Tricia.

Tricia and Aubrey brushed the loose grasses off of their shirts and jean skirts. Tricia still had one in her hair. Aubrey giggled and picked it off, then hung it in front of Tricia's face like a carrot before a donkey.

Tricia, whose countenance had changed in a few seconds, swatted Aubrey's hand away. "Aubrey, please," said Tricia. "This is a serious situation."

"Well, you've got us in a fine mess," said Aubrey to Noelle.

"That's not true!" Noelle cried indignantly. "It was your idea to begin with."

"You came here first! It's on you!"

"Wrong!"

Tricia intervened and put one hand on each girl's shoulder. "There, there, girls. Don't let's fight before the adventure has even begun, else you'll begin knifing each other before the adventure is over."

Noelle huffed and folded her arms across her chest.

"That rock," said Aubrey, changing the subject and pointing with her finger. "Race you! On your marks—get set—go!"

The Thompson sisters ran as fast as they could. In ten seconds, the winner, Aubrey, reached the rock, followed almost immediately after by Noelle, and then Tricia two seconds later.

Noelle blew out a breath, then said: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we're all in Rohan."

After looking around for a moment, Aubrey could see very clearly why Noelle said so. "Why, you're right, Noelle," said Aubrey.

"I say," said Tricia suddenly, "what's _that?"_

They all looked. In the distance stood what looked like a village.

"Do you...think we should go over there?" Aubrey asked.

"Yes," Noelle said boldly. "Let's run. This is taking way too long."

So the three girls broke off in a sprint. Noelle looked down at the ground. In her mind's eye, it was always fun to see the ground rushing past beneath her galloping feet.

Then she saw the bright cyan tennis shoes on those feet and remembered that they would look extremely out of place in Middle-earth. She slowed down and mentioned this to her sisters; then they, too, stopped.

"Too true," said Tricia. "Not that there's anything we can do about it. I say we hide behind a rock until nightfall when no one can see us, then run away from here as far as we can."

Noelle and Aubrey had no better plan, so there was no choice but to do as the eldest sister said. The three travelers seated themselves behind the largest boulder they could find that had the tallest grasses around it.

"O!"

All three girls jumped at the deep feminine voice they heard behind them. Noelle wheeled around. There stood a tall woman, whose face Noelle felt she had seen before but she couldn't place it. "Er..." Noelle searched for something to say. "Hello."

The woman looked Noelle up and down. Noelle held her breath, hoping the woman wouldn't mention Noelle's far-from-authentic T-shirt, jean skirt, and tennis shoes.

Much to Noelle's relief, the woman said nothing concerning Noelle's clothing. "What are your names?" asked the Rohiril.

"My name is Noelle," said Noelle, "and this is Tricia."

"I'm Aubrey," Aubrey quickly said, before Noelle could steal her thunder.

"You may call me Dame Morwen," said the woman. "Come with me ere you be found." And she beckoned with her hand.

The three girls struggled to keep up with Dame Morwen's wide, hasty strides. Noelle could practically feel the inhabitants staring at her and her sisters as they passed by several wooden houses before arriving at Dame Morwen's cottage.

The house had a stable with one horse in it, but Noelle barely had enough time to look at it, because Dame Morwen herded the three Thompsons into the house as quickly as possible. Noelle wasn't very disappointed, either. She didn't like being the laughingstock of the Rohirrim.

"Whence come ye?" Dame Morwen asked. "Why found I there three children, with neither mother or father to protect them? Are ye orphans?"

Noelle tried to think of something to tell Dame Morwen that would not be a lie, yet would not be the complete truth, either; for that would be saying too much. She said: "We hail from afar. We—we were traveling and lost our way, madam. And we do not know the way back."

"Then you must stay here till you are found." Dame Morwen opened the door. "Éothain! Freda!" she called.

A boy and a girl, who looked to be about thirteen and eight, ran into the room. "Mama?" the girl said.

"Here are three maidens—Tricia, Noelle, and Aubrey—who are very far from home," said Dame Morwen. "They say they have been traveling and have lost their way, and know not the way back. They must stay here till their people come and take them."

"Good day," said Éothain and Freda together.

"Good day," replied Tricia, Noelle, and Aubrey.

"Tricia and Noelle, ye may have some of my clothing," said Dame Morwen. "Aubrey, Freda will give thee her clothes."

"To thee we give our many thanks," said Tricia.

* * *

 **A/N: And thus reads the second chapter of the revised edition of _The Time That is Given Us._ The Middle-earth characters speak English for the purpose of this story; for they would have been speaking Westron, but that would involve not only having them speak a totally different language from the Thompsons, but also my changing _every single name in all of LOTR._ And that would be (1) much too complicated for me and (2) much too confusing for my readers. The changing of the language from Annunaic to English was one of many changes from my original version that you will find in my revised edition.**

 **Reviews are greatly appreciated and often responded to. To thee I give my many thanks for reading! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

****Disclaimer: I own nothing**** ** **(except my OCs haha)**** ** **.****

* * *

Dame Morwen's clothes were a little too big for Noelle, but they would do. She looked at Tricia, whose raiment seemed to fit better.

"You look like a true maiden of the Rohirrim, Noelle," Tricia commented.

"So also do you," said Noelle. Éothain had gone outside to finish his chores while the girls dressed.

"Aubrey, of the three of us, I think your clothes fit you the best," Noelle remarked.

"Really?" asked Aubrey.

Noelle smiled and nodded. She could see that Aubrey and Freda were just the same size now that they were standing next to one another.

"Aubrey, come outside," said Freda. "I am going to show you our horse, Garulf."

Noelle watched as Freda and Aubrey walked out the door. Somehow, Noelle could tell that they were going to be very good friends, if not best. Then a thought struck Noelle.

"Why, Trish," said Noelle, "I think I know where I recognize these people from."

"Yes, I know," said Tricia. "They are Morwen, Éothain, and Freda: the very ones whose scene we tried to play out."

Thankfully, Dame Morwen was not in the room when Tricia said that. The woman's hearing those words would create an unwanted paradox at the very least.

"I wonder why Dame Morwen has an Elvish name," mused Noelle. "Maybe she was born in Gondor. Gondor isn't that far from here, you know. Maybe she lived in Minas Tirith—or something—for who knows how long, and then she married somebody from Rohan, and they moved over here and had two children."

"Nine or ten children, more likely, and the two we see now are the only ones who survived," said Tricia. "And she probably was given an Elvish name for some other reason. Her hair isn't as dark as a Gondorian's should be, you know."

"Trish, you _do_ have the most boring ideas," said Noelle, but she knew what her sister said was more plausible than her own ideas.

Tricia went to the door and held it open. "Dame Morwen," she called, "may Noelle and I help you with your garden?"

Tricia and Noelle went outside. Tricia let the door slam shut behind her. Dame Morwen didn't seem to notice or care. Noelle was a little surprised. Most women she knew were very particular about door slamming. Maybe the Rohirrim were different.

"Yes," said Dame Morwen. "Here is our garden. It wants weeding."

Noelle looked at the woman rather stupidly. "What's a weed?"

Immediately after she said that, Noelle mentally kicked herself. She could see Tricia looking at her in shock and horror. Noelle didn't want to see how Dame Morwen was looking at her. Dame Morwen was probably thinking, _Stupid li'l_ _city girl. I'll_ _a-_ _l_ _e_ _arn you how._ Not in those words, of course; probably in a more Tolkien-ish version of that thought.

"A weed is anything which you have not planted that is growing in your garden," Dame Morwen explained. "You must uproot the weeds, else they will kill your plants."

"Oh—I see," said Noelle. She knelt down beside Tricia and searched for anything that didn't look like a normal plant. _That one looks like it could be a weed,_ thought Noelle, and reached over to uproot it.

Noelle held up the weed she had pulled. "What do I do with this now?" she asked.

"Give it me," said Dame Morwen. She took the weed and threw it into a pile of what looked like random organic junk to Noelle. "'Twill be used as soil in future."

"Decomposition," Tricia explained in a low voice. Noelle nodded slowly. She had learned about that in her life science class.

Noelle, Tricia, and Dame Morwen worked together and weeded the rest of the garden. When it was over, Noelle stretched her aching back. She didn't know gardening could hurt so much. "Maybe that's 'because it was real,'" said Noelle to herself, and laughed at her quote from the last _Hobbit_ movie. She didn't approve of the Kili-and-Tauriel pairing at all, but instead used it for amusement purposes to prove how silly the LotR prequels were (the movies, not the book). As Tricia often liked to say, "The originals are _always_ better."

"All right, now," said Dame Morwen, jerking Noelle from her thoughts. "I'm going in to prepare supper. You may help if you choose, or you may stay out here with Freda."

Noelle hoped Tricia wouldn't volunteer her again.

"I'll help," said Tricia.

 _Whew,_ thought Noelle. Tricia let the door slam again. Noelle thought she heard Dame Morwen saying, "Mind you don't slam the door too often. It might break."

 _Oh,_ Noelle thought. _So Dame Morwen does mind our slamming the door. Well, it's too bad about that._ Noelle had been hoping Dame Morwen really wouldn't care.

"Hi, Noelle!" Aubrey called. Noelle turned. Aubrey was sitting side-saddle on a horse that Freda was holding.

"Is that Garulf?" Noelle asked, walking up to her sister.

"Yes, it is," said Aubrey. She was stroking the horse's mane.

Noelle loved horses. She had only ridden one once, on a trail, and she had loved the experience much more than she had thought she would. Noelle reached up and patted Garulf on his head. "He's beautiful," Noelle said to Freda.

"Indeed," Freda replied with a smile.

Noelle looked back at the horse. _"Mae govannen, Garulf,"_ she said softly. _"Gin melin."_ She smiled. _"_ _No m_ _ellon-nîn,_ _roch_ _."_

Noelle thought she saw Freda raise her eyebrows. Did Freda know Sindarin? Maybe Noelle had just imagined it.

All at once, a dozen ideas flooded Noelle's mind. Maybe her theories were true about Dame Morwen's coming from Gondor! Maybe Dame Morwen spoke Elvish, too, and had taught her children the same. Did Dame Morwen's husband know Elvish? Where was her husband? Was Dame Morwen a widow? Or—

Dame Morwen interrupted Noelle's thoughts. "Time to eat. Come on inside, children."

Noelle let go of the horse and followed Aubrey, Tricia, and Dame Morwen's son and daughter into the house.

* * *

 ** **A/N: How'd you like this latest chapter? I had a hard time deciding where to end it. Please leave a review, and follow or favorite as you see fit! Till next time!****

 ** **Sindarin translations:****

 ** _ **Mae govannen, Garulf**_** ** **= Well met, Garulf****

 ** _ **Gin melin**_** ** **= I love you****

 ** _ **No m**_** ** _ **ellon-nîn,**_** ** _ **roch =**_** ** **Be m**** ** **y friend**** ** **, horse****

 ** **Review responses:****

 ** **Jesus' girl 4ever: Yeah, it does, don't it?****

 ** **Shadow: No, she's not the wife of Thengel**** ** **(although she may have been named after her)**** ** **.**** ** **The**** ** **Morwen**** ** **in this story**** ** **is a**** ** **minor**** ** **character from Peter Jackson's movie adaptation of**** ** _ **The Two Towers.**_** ** **And you're right, she did**** ** **speak a little strange**** ** **ly. Some people in LotR (the books, I mean) do talk that way, like Éowyn.**** ** **But after receiving your review,**** ** **I went back and toned down some of the Early Modern English-ness in Morwen's manner of speech, because I don't think even Éowyn used thee's and thou's that much.****

 ** **sweetheartcat5: I will! Thanks!****


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Middle-earth or anything affiliated with it. Those belong to John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, and him alone.**

* * *

Noelle lay awake staring at the ceiling on the straw mattress Morwen had provided for her and her sisters. Éothain slept near the door, and Morwen and Freda slept on the other end of the room.

 _If this is really the Middle-earth universe,_ Noelle thought, _I wonder what time we're in now? Maybe it's_ _near the end of_ _the_ _T_ _hird_ _A_ _ge, because I'm absolutely sure those people are Morwen and_ _Éothain and Freda,_ _and if this was the Fourth Age, they wouldn't be in this place._

Which meant that this was in the middle of the War of the Ring. And Noelle had _better_ not mess up the plot for this one. Maybe the plot would go the way Tolkien wrote it no matter how hard the Thompsons tried to make it go elsewhere. Or maybe, horror of horrors, this was an alternate Middle-earth universe and it would be too easy for Noelle to mess it up. But if they were in Middle-earth, did that mean that Middle-earth was actually real and what Tolkien had written down actually happened at a point in time? And if that was so, did the act of Tolkien's writing _The Lord of the Rings_ actually create the events that happened in the LOTR timeline and now the Thompsons were living in an alternate fictional universe? Or did Tolkien know that what he was writing down was true but it was masqueraded as fiction, albeit perhaps not by him? And if he did know it was true, then _how_ did he know?

Noelle pondered these questions in vain. It was not until well after midnight that sleep came upon her.

* * *

Noelle awoke early the next morning. When she first opened her eyes, she could only barely see the light of the sun arising over the horizon. But apparently she was the last to wake up.

"Rise and shine, sister," said Aubrey. "Freda's already awake, and so is Trish. Dame Morwen doesn't take boarders who don't work, she says, so she wants you and me to sweep the floor." Aubrey handed Noelle a broom. Noelle took it. She may have been a city girl, but sweeping was one chore she at least knew how to do, even if she had hated doing it back at home.

"What's Tricia doing?" Noelle asked after a while.

"She and Dame Morwen and Éothain are outside," said Aubrey, "doing something, I'm not sure what."

"At least Dame Morwen doesn't have a big house," Noelle sighed. "Then we'd be doing a whole lot more of this."

Noelle and Aubrey worked for several more minutes. It seemed to Noelle that she would never get the whole floor done, and whenever she thought she had got all the dirt off of a spot, Aubrey showed her that she had not.

"Aubrey?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember Númenor?"

"Well—I haven't read the Sil, but you have told me about it," Aubrey replied. "The Sil" was short for _The Silmarillion._

Noelle began to sing:

 _The War of Wrath at last was done;  
Now peace in Middle-Earth was won.  
For all the men who gave them aid  
The Valar had an island laid.  
O Númenor, O Blessed Isle!  
Thy shores did know the Valar's smile!_

Aubrey knew this song. She joined in on the next verse:

 _Their span of life was lengthened long;  
To lesser men were kind and strong.  
Through ages long thus reigned their kings  
Of whom no man now tells or sings.  
O Númenor, O Land of Star!  
No shadow did thy beauty mar!  
_

 _Yet was a Ban upon them laid;  
To sail too far West was forbade.  
At first they did with this comply  
And of the Ban was heard no sigh.  
O Númenor, O righteous land!  
In early days for Truth did stand!_

Tricia had joined in on the third verse. Noelle and Aubrey had not heard their oldest sister come in, but still they continued on to the fourth verse.

 _But then came fear and doubt and scorn  
Concerning those of Valinor.  
Unto the men of Westernesse  
Their many blessings now seemed less.  
O Númenor, beware! Take heed!  
Let not the Darkness in thee breed!_

"There, that's as far as I remember," said Tricia.

"But it's a cliffhanger!" whined Aubrey.

"Dame Morwen and Éothain and Freda probably heard us, anyhow," Tricia laughed. "I wonder what they think of it."

"But there are eight more verses to go!" Aubrey exclaimed.

"Well, do _you_ remember them all?"

"Noelle does," Aubrey said smugly. "Noelle remembers everything."

"That's not exactly true, Aubrey," said Noelle modestly.

"Yes, it is," said Aubrey.

Noelle shook her head.

Aubrey shrugged. "Whatever."

Noelle changed the subject quickly. "Well, Tricia, where have you been this morning?"

"Milking the cow," replied the fifteen-year-old. "I think I finally got the hang of it."

"Yeah, that's great," said Aubrey. "Hey, have you seen Dame Morwen? Have you seen anybody?"

"Dame Morwen's gone to deliver the milk," Tricia told her sisters.

"I wonder what happened to the father," Noelle mused.

"Freda told me," Aubrey put in. "Their father was named Wilhelm. He was one of the Riders of Rohan. He died some way—she didn't say how."

"Did she tell you why her mother has an Elvish name?" Noelle asked eagerly.

"No," answered Aubrey. "Noelle, I expect it's just because Dame Morwen's mother thought it was a cool-sounding name. Or maybe _Morwen_ is a Rohirric name too. You can't always come up with awesome adventure back-stories."

Just then, Freda walked through the door. "Good morning," she said. "Are you well?"

"Yeah," Noelle sighed. Tricia smiled and said, "We are well." But Aubrey ran and hugged Freda, who gladly responded with the same. Noelle smiled a little. So Aubrey and Freda were best friends now. But what did she expect? Aubrey and Freda were the same age, and Aubrey hadn't met a single other girl in all the Thompson sisters' stay in Middle-earth. Of course they would be "besties", as cousin Sam would say.

"Noelle, come help us prepare dinner," said Tricia.

"All right," said Noelle, and went to help. It was going to be a long day.

 **A/N: The song _Akallabeth_ has been used in this story with express permission of Celebrant, the FanFiction writer who composed the beautiful lyrics to the poem. Thank you, Celebrant! (I wonder how the Thompsons knew about it, then? Maybe they jumped in another time machine and saw this on FanFiction—oh, good grief. They'd be stuck in a never-ending paradox if they did that. Yikes!) In case you were wondering, I actually composed music for _Akallabeth._**

 **Anywhosies, please review and tell me what you think! And if you want, follow and/or favorite this story as well. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Lord of the Rings_ or anything associated with it.**

* * *

Noelle lay awake in her bed. This past day had apparently been the Rohirrim's day of rest, and this was the seventh night of her stay in Middle-earth. And still there were many questions she was struggling with. She turned over and whispered to Tricia, very quietly: "Why are we here?"

Tricia shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm not the one who sent us here."

"But-" Noelle searched for words. "There has to be a reason. And when will we ever go back?"

Tricia looked at her sister. "This was what you wanted, wasn't it? You wanted to go to Middle-earth. You thought it would solve all your problems."

Noelle cringed. Tricia's words hurt. And Noelle knew they were true. "I..." she began, unsure of what to say next. She decided to say nothing. _I'll see if_ _life here is_ _what I really want,_ she thought, and tried to tell herself that it was.

"Well, I don't really want to stay here for the rest of my life," Noelle heard Tricia mutter, and turn her back to Noelle. "Good night."

"Good night," said Noelle, and made herself sleep.

* * *

Noelle opened her eyes. It was still dark, but she could hear Dame Morwen and Éothain and Freda stirring awake. Tricia and Aubrey were still asleep. Noelle shook them awake.

"Good morning, sisses," said Noelle. "Oh—sorry, that sounded too much like 'sissies'. I meant sisters."

"Good morning," mumbled Aubrey. "Help me up? Pretty please?" Noelle put out her hand and grabbed Aubrey's wrist. Aubrey grabbed Noelle's wrist, and Noelle pulled her up out of bed. Tricia got up on her own.

The day passed as usual. An hour or so before midday, Dame Morwen called Tricia, Noelle, Aubrey, and Freda to help prepare the noon meal. Noelle enjoyed cooking. It was her favorite job of all.

Before long the meal was ready to eat. Dame Morwen called Éothain, Freda, and Aubrey to the table. For a moment they were silent and faced West, as was the custom among some men of Gondor. Then they began to eat.

The food tasted good. The drink was watered-down beer, as always. The Thompson family rarely drank alcohol, but the Thompson girls had decided that drinking watery beer would be okay because the beer would be diluted enough to not cause a problem. As it was, they were never drunk after eating a meal with beer. So, Noelle reasoned, it must be all right.

As Noelle stood with her sisters and the Rohirric woman and girl doing the dishes, she started to hear some commotion in the distance. At first she dismissed it. This was Rohan. All sorts of crazy things happened in Rohan. But then... _was that a scream I just heard?_ Noelle involuntarily gasped. What was going on?

The commotion grew louder. More people screamed. Noelle could pick out gruff shouting as well. There was no mistake: the village was being attacked.

"Valar preserve us!" Dame Morwen breathed. She set down the dish she was cleaning. "Stay here," she instructed the children, and made her way out the door.

The Thompsons and the Rohirric children exchanged worried glances. There was a heavy, painful silence in the air.

"Goodbye, everyone," said Noelle. "Eru bless your souls." The inevitable was upon them. They were all sure to die.

"Farewell," said Éothain.

Then came Dame Morwen's urgent call. "Éothain, Éothain!"

The Rohirric children ran out the door. Noelle, though she was not called, could not resist walking outside to see what was going on.

"You take your sister," Dame Morwen said to her son. "You'll go faster with just two."

Éothain mounted the steed. Dame Morwen lifted Freda, who was too small to mount on her own, up onto the horse. But Freda protested. "Papa says Éothain must not ride Garulf—he is too big for him!"

Dame Morwen didn't seem to think that was important. "Listen to me," she said. "You must ride to Edoras and raise the alarm. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mama," said Éothain.

Freda began to cry. "I don't want to leave! I don't want to go, Mama!"

But Dame Morwen cupped Freda's cheeks in her hands. "Freda, I _will_ find you there," she said reassuringly, and kissed her daughter's cheek.

One last time Dame Morwen looked at the impending peril. There was no stopping it. The children must indeed make haste.

"Quickly!" she cried, and the horse galloped away towards Meduseld. Dame Morwen could only stand and watch. Now her dear children were gone—just like Wilhelm. Would she ever see any of them again?

"Tricia, Noelle, Aubrey," said Dame Morwen urgently. "You must follow me. Now!"

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 **A/N: Okay, so just a message to some of you guys (and girls): Don't be alarmed that the Thompson kids are drinking beer with their Rohirric friends. As stated in the story, this diluted beer didn't get people drunk on it. And it's not like they had a choice, either. I think-since Tolkien based Rohan off of the Anglo-Saxons-that in Rohan, water by itself would not be fit for drinking (you know, dirty and stuff, because Rohirrim probably didn't have good filtering or plumbing), so it would be healthier to drink something alcoholic that kills germs, like beer (not wine since that's for the rich folk).  
**

 **Meanwhile, I wonder what will happen next? Never mind, I already know. But I'm not going to tell you until chapter 6. ;) I hope you liked it! If you don't, go ahead and tell me—I don't like to be kept in the dark! Please leave a review, and don't forget to follow and/or favorite as you see fit!**

 **Responses to reviews:**

 **(Forgot to do the reviews for chapter 3 so I'm gonna do the 3 and 4 ones both here.)**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Shadow: Really? I didn't think it was that much of a cliffhanger, but...hey, I mean, if that's what you think, then... :D**

 **Jesus' girl 4ever: Thank you! Glad you like it!**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Jesus' girl 4ever: Thanks again, lol! Glad you liked chapter 4 too! :)  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Middle-earth _._ That is J. R. R. Tolkien's world that he let fanfiction writers like me play in. Thank you sir!**

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Noelle was used to jogging over long periods of time—a product of her two years now of cross-country training and competition. But now she was running as fast as her legs would take her—about twelve miles per hour—and the only way she knew where to run was because she saw where the crowd was going, and where Dame Morwen was going. Occasionally Noelle turned her head to see if Tricia and Aubrey were still there. They were. And Dame Morwen kept sprinting for at least half a minute.

Eventually Dame Morwen slowed down to a quick walk. Noelle and her sisters did the same. "Where are we going?" Tricia asked.

"To Dunharrow," Dame Morwen replied. "Long has it been a refuge for our people."

"How long will we stay there?" Noelle wanted to know.

"For as long as it would be dangerous for us to not be there," Dame Morwen said simply. "And child, do not ask me how many days that would be, for I know not now any more than you do. Only time will tell."

Noelle didn't know how to reply to that, so she said nothing. Dame Morwen, Tricia, Noelle, and Aubrey walked for a long time. Noelle had no idea how long, but she was sure it had to be at least two hours before they finally came to a huge cliffside.

 _Th_ _at_ _must be Dunharrow,_ thought Noelle in awe. She recognized the Púkel-men carved out of stone, lining the stony road leading up to Dunharrow. Dame Morwen began to lead the three girls to the stairs.

It is a curious thing that if one has been moving his legs for a very long time, moving one's legs some more does not seem to make much of a difference. It still hurts, of course; but that pain is not new. But, as Noelle knew from her experience, that only applies if one does the same _kind_ of movement. And walking up stairs was not like running or walking. It worked Noelle's abdominal muscles as well as her leg muscles—whatever they were called. Tricia would know. She was an aspiring medical doctor, even though she was still a sophomore in high school, and she had all two hundred and six bones of the body memorized, as well as all of the muscles.

Dame Morwen, Tricia, Noelle, and Aubrey kept on walking for what seemed to Noelle like an eternity. Noelle heard Aubrey huffing and puffing behind her. Noelle would have carried Aubrey but for two reasons: one, that Aubrey was already almost sixty pounds; and two, having to carry any weight on her back would slow Noelle down significantly. And each step was slowly turning Noelle's legs into rubber bands.

Finally, when Noelle thought that her legs would never bend again, the Thompsons and Dame Morwen were at the top of the stairs. Noelle sighed in relief. Dame Morwen slowed to a stop and turned to admire the view. Noelle and her sisters did likewise.

"Here we are at last," Dame Morwen whispered. She spoke to the girls. "This is Dunharrow, and that valley is Harrowdale."

"Beautiful," breathed Tricia.

Noelle was awestruck. Harrowdale was a deep valley, the valley of the river Snowbourn, if Noelle remembered her Lord of the Rings geography correctly. Tricia was right; the valley was very beautiful. It reminded Noelle of the times she had gone with her family to the mountains and looked down from a steep cliff to the breathtaking gorges below. But Harrowdale was even more awesome than what she had seen years before in the mountains back at home.

Home. Would Noelle ever go back there?

 _Noelle,_ she said to herself, _this is all your fault, really, for wishing to be here. You thought Middle-earth would be so much better than the twenty-first century. Well? Is it?_

Noelle really didn't know. As Dame Morwen had said, only time would tell. But even so, deep down, Noelle didn't really want to stay in Middle-earth forever. Poor Dad and Mom. If Noelle never came back, her parents would wonder what had happened to her. And as far as Noelle could tell, times in Middle-earth weren't much better than the time she was born in. In fact, Middle-earth might have been worse. Noelle laughed grimly. Did she ever have to fear for her life back at home?

The original reason Noelle had wanted to go to Middle-earth was because of her history teacher. All her other teachers were all right. But Miss Caitlyn Blakeley had been hired to replace Mrs. Williams, who had died recently of heart failure. Miss Blakeley was an evolutionist and an atheist—not that Mrs. Williams hadn't been, but Miss Blakeley was a lot harsher. Once Noelle's classmate had asked her about Noelle's beliefs on a certain issue. Noelle began to answer using verses from the Bible. But Miss Blakeley heard it, and made Noelle keep quiet about it. Mrs. Williams had never done that. At that moment, Noelle had decided she wanted to go to Middle-earth if it was possible.

The grass always seemed greener on the other side of the fence. But which side was truly better?

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 **A/N: So that was my sixth chapter! If you noticed, this is basically chapter 5 from the original edition, with some minor (or not) changes. Chapter seven and chapter eight will be similar—just the original 6 and 7 with minor changes. At least, we hope it's minor, don't we? Mua ha ha ha. ;) Hey, at least that means I get to have more chapters and the story lasts longer! :) As always, don't forget to leave a review, and follow or favorite if you want to!**

 **Jesus' girl 4ever: I figured people would understand, but still, you can't be too careful. Thanks for reviewing! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.**

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Noelle seated herself before the fire, watching the bright orange flames dance on the smoking branches, transmitting thermal energy to Noelle's body via radiation. She laughed inwardly. Most folks wouldn't put it that way, she knew, but she was a bit of a nerd when it came to science. Tricia and Aubrey sat down on either side of her, and Dame Morwen sat down on the other side of the fire. Beside Aubrey sat Freda, and Éothain sat cross-legged on his mother's right: for the two children of Morwen had returned from their errand to Edoras.

The six travellers looked toward the setting sun, though their gaze was not on the sun, but on the Western Land that once was.

"I thank you children for offering your help with the cooking," said Dame Morwen to the Thompsons. "Without your help, the work would have taken much longer."

"Pray don't mention it," replied Tricia politely. The six of them took up their wooden platters and cups and began to eat and drink.

"Young Tricia…" began Dame Morwen after a long silence. "If you do not mind my asking, I have a question of you."

Noelle stopped eating and looked up. Uh-oh.

But Tricia seemed calm. "Say on, Dame."

The Rohiril looked Tricia straight in the eye. "Where do you come from?"

"It's a long story," said Tricia.

"Pray do tell me. I am sure that it would be quite interesting."

"Well...we do not come from any country you have heard of. We come from a place called America—the United States of America."

The three Rohirrim gave Tricia very puzzled looks. "A-mer-i-ca?" Éothain repeated slowly, attempting (but failing) to pronounce the name correctly.

"The reason you have never heard of it," said Tricia, "is because it does not exist yet."

Dame Morwen searched Noelle's face for any sign of a joke, but found none. "I am afraid I do not understand, lass."

"We went back in time," said Tricia.

"Went back in time?" said Dame Morwen. "How do you mean?"

"How do you know you went back in time?" asked Éothain.

"Tell me what happened, from the beginning," the woman told them.

Tricia, Noelle, and Aubrey exchanged looks that said, "Whoops, this is going to get complicated, fast." And it would get complicated. Noelle was sure Middle-earth-dwellers would not understand that someone wrote a book all about them.

Tricia was still as calm as before. Noelle knew that, just like herself, Tricia was very nervous and cautious on the inside. "Well, you know that we came from the future. A famous man wrote books about you and your time, and we were reading those books. Then I..."

"Someone wrote _books_ about us?" interrupted Éothain, looking quite disturbed. "How did he find out?"

"I don't know. Maybe one of the Valar told him." Tricia meant it as a half-joke, but no one laughed. "Well, anyway, we were reading his books, and I realized how much I wanted to be in Middle-earth, in the Third Age, because it was—or I thought it was—so much better than the time that I was born in. We went out into the yard to play near a tree. Then we fell into the tree, only we didn't land inside. Instead we landed in Middle-earth, in Rohan."

"How did you land in Middle-earth?" Dame Morwen wanted to know.

"The One put us there." Noelle was astounded at Tricia's confidence.

Dame Morwen nodded, agreeing. "Yes, the One ordained for that to happen." She looked each of the girls in turn. "Tricia, Noelle, Aubrey, the One also ordained for you to be born in that time which you were born in. It was wrong and ungrateful of you to be wishing that you were in Middle-earth, instead of your own time. The One must have put you there for a reason, to fulfill His perfect purposes. I am sure that He hath woven—and weaveth still—your lives into the Undying Music of the world, in your time and place, just as He doth with us in our own time and place."

Dame Morwen paused to let that sink in. It sure hit home with Noelle. She waited to see if Dame Morwen would say any more, but instead the woman arose and took a deep breath. The five young people also stood. "I think it is time for us to sleep now," Dame Morwen said.

Noelle inwardly agreed, still deep in thought as she and her two sisters followed Dame Morwen, Éothain, and Freda into the tent that the six of them had set up earlier.

Noelle took off the cloak Dame Morwen had given her during the time they had lived in the village, and spread it on the ground inside the tent. Tricia and Aubrey did likewise with their own cloaks, spreading them on either side of Noelle's. Tricia, Noelle, and Aubrey lay down upon their cloaks, but none of them fell asleep.

"Well, we finally told them," Noelle whispered, just as quietly as she had when she had first inquired of Tricia about the girls' going to Middle-earth.

"I know, right?" Aubrey answered, equally quietly. "So...what do we do now?"

"We might wake up at home next morning," Tricia whispered. Noelle searched her fifteen-year-old sister's face for any sign of joking but found none. Tricia looked dead serious, and very confident that her words were true.

"You think so?" Noelle asked.

"Well, you really think we would be allowed to stay here forever?" Tricia asked in reply. "I mean, I think we've all learned our lesson now, haven't we?"

"Yes," Noelle and Aubrey said simultaneously.

"Then, why should we be here any longer if the purpose of our coming here was for us to learn that lesson?"

 _"_ _Is_ that the only purpose?" Noelle questioned.

Tricia looked down in concentration, and it seemed to Noelle that she was praying. She was, silently.

After a few seconds, Tricia looked up at Noelle and Aubrey very seriously.

"I think," Tricia said slowly, "if that is the only purpose, we will wake up tomorrow at our home."

Noelle looked at Tricia. "And if not?"

"Then we will wake up again in this same place. I—I think."

The twelve-year-old waited for a few seconds, silently giving Tricia a chance to take back her words. When Tricia made no move to change her opinion, Noelle asked her, "You are sure?"

"Quite sure. And if not, it's a safe assumption anyway." Tricia winked. Before Noelle could say anything, Tricia turned to Dame Morwen and her children and spoke to them. "Dame Morwen? Éothain? Freda?"

"What is it?" asked Dame Morwen, rising slightly on her cloak which she had spread on the ground for a bed. The two young ones sat up and looked at their three friends.

"We might be leaving in the night, so I must bid farewell."

"Leaving?" cried Éothain indignantly, making as if to get up. "Where are you going? It's not safe out there, especially not in the night!"

"Wait, son," Dame Morwen said, her hand on Éothain's arm. "I don't think they're going by foot or on horseback. They came from another time. Perhaps the One is taking them back to their own time." Dame Morwen looked at the Thompson sisters. "Farewell, children," she said. "And good night."

"Good night, and farewell, Dame Morwen," Tricia said.

"Farewell, Dame," said Noelle.

"Farewell," Aubrey said likewise. Tricia, Noelle, and Aubrey Thompson lay down upon their cloaks and closed their eyes in sleep.

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 **A/N: And that, _mellyn-nîn_ (my friends), is chapter seven. AKA chapter 6, reworked. Do you think they'll go back to their own world? They might...or they might not. As Dame Morwen said, only time will tell. ;D Leave a review and follow and/or favorite if you feel like it. So long! Till next time!**

 **UPDATE: I updated this chapter. Only a few minor edits—just changed Dame Morwen asking Noelle to her asking Tricia, because Celebrant informed me that since Tricia's the eldest sister, it's much more realistic, this being in a Anglo-Saxonesque culture, that Dame Morwen would have asked the eldest member of a group, since that person would likely be the most knowledgable, as well as the most responsible for everyone else.**

 **Jesus' girl 4ever: Thank you! Yes, that was something I did to improve it a little. I don't know about you, but I love getting into character's heads when I write. Don't know why though.**


	8. Chapter 8

_"Ae Adar nín i vi Menel, no aer i eneth lín. Tolo i arnad lín, caro den i innas lin, bo Ceven sui vi Menel. Anno ammen sír i mbas ilaurui vín, ar díheno ammen i úgerth vin, sui mín i gohenam di ai gerir úgerth ammen..."_

 _Noelle heard herself saying the Lord's Prayer in Sindarin. She opened her eyes. She was in a white boat—and yet not. There seemed to be water flowing past her, just as this dream, if you can even call it that, was swirling and tossing about before her sleeping eyes._

 _There was something in her hand. Noelle looked down. It was_ The Return of the King, _Tolkien's book...but somehow she seemed to be inside it, living between—but not in—the very pages._

 _Then she was standing back at her home in suburban St. Louis. Only it was not her home; it was her history classroom at Redwood Middle School._

 _"I wish these troubles had never come to me," Noelle said. "I wish none of this had happened."_

 _"So do all who live to see such times," said a voice—Gandalf's. "But that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you."_

 _Now Noelle was in the boat again, this time with her two sisters. A thought of hers in what now seemed like the distant, distant past. The grass was always greener on the other side of the fence, she had thought. But which was really better?_

 _"Which indeed?" asked Noelle. "I only have to decide what to do with the time that is given to me. So then neither is better in itself, but I was born in this time, and in this time I must stay, unless for some unknown reason I must return."_

 _At that moment the boat sped up. The river water slowly rose higher and higher until its surface was above the rim of the boat. But the water, much to Noelle's surprised, did not leak inside. Instead it formed two waves, one on port and one on starboard. These waves reached upward and in toward each other until the caps touched and joined. Now there was a wall of water around the boat, flowing in many different directions, swirling and churning, dancing the rays of the sun that somehow managed to squeak through the thick, unstable wall of clear blue water. Noelle sensed that she was traveling, faster and faster and faster, flying swifter than light itself, yet not spacially. She was flying, not in feet or miles or light-years, but in decades—centuries—millenia—Ages._

 _These three girls, these daughters of Edward Thompson, these children fifteen, twelve, and eight—they were not in the Third Age, nor in the Fourth Age, but much further ahead...in the Future. Over twenty-one hundred years since the birth of the Christ Child._

 _The waves separated, stood in the air for a moment—then was brought down to the ground by force of gravity, splashing the girls with cool water, refreshing in the summer heat._

Before Noelle's eyes the water and the boat disappeared. The summer heat was real. Noelle sucked in some breath. Here she stood—in the treehouse, in Missouri, in the Thompson family's back yard.

Noelle gave a cry of joy. Was she really home? Everything was just as she remembered it: dusk outside, the wooden walls of the girls' tree house, the waning sunlight just peeping in through the window. Had no time passed at all?

"Goodness!" Noelle breathed. Then, unable to contain herself any longer, she leaped in the air. "Yippee!"

Tricia and Noelle and Aubrey were whooping and hollering so much that none of them noticed the car pulling into the driveway and the car doors slamming as Dad and Mom walked to the treehouse.

"What's going on in here?" Noelle's dad asked, opening the treehouse door and poking his head inside. "What's with the whooping and hollering, you guys? And why are you dressed like three little Rohirrim?"

Tricia, Noelle, and Aubrey quieted down simultaneously, but they still had happy smiles on their faces.

"Oh," Tricia replied airily, "we had an adventure."

"Adventure?" Dad repeated. "What did y'all do? Playing games again?"

"Dad," Noelle said, grinning mischievously and putting her hands behind her back, "you'd never believe what happened."

"Hmm," their father said. "Maybe I would."

 **A/N: Well, it's over. (Sorry to shatter your hopes, Jaygee, but as you can see, they don't stay.) Please review and tell me what you think! Do you think this was a good ending? Maybe? And don't forget to follow or favorite as you see fit. Thank you so much for reading!**

 **Cheers!**

 **The End.**


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